CORAL GABLES — The Hurricanes had their first practice in 11 days Tuesday morning at Greentree Fields.

A few storylines to ponder:

QBs battling it out: It wasn’t a great day for the Hurricanes’ offense – coach Al Golden said the defense was “tougher and more physical” – but the two UM quarterbacks vying for the starting job produced a few highlights.

Redshirt freshman Kevin Olsen completed several passes with zip and produced a pretty 20-yard touch pass over the middle to tight end Jake O’Donnell. Senior Ryan Williams had a touchdown to Stacy Coley, diagnosing a blitz and letting his receiver do the work.

Williams is still the favorite to start this fall based on experience, but Golden said Olsen is pushing hard.

“He’s texting [offensive coordinator] James [Coley] the night before, calling James, coming to see him. He’s really doing all the little things that you need a quarterback to do. It’s showing on the field,” Golden said.

“He’s distributing the ball really well for us, running [the offense]. He’s got to continue to raise his confidence level and continue to lead, but that’s going to come the more comfortable he is with the offense.”

Olsen says he feels he “grew up a little bit” after last year, a redshirt season truncated by a bowl suspension for violating a team rule.

“My freshman year is over,” he said. “I’m ready to step up and if I can be the guy, so be it. I’m going to let the chips fall where they may. That’s all I can do.”

“Last year I wasn’t as comfortable going in and playing against the defense, or even the scout team, as I am now,” Olsen said. “I know where to go with the ball. The defense doesn’t fool me a lot like they did last year.”

Golden, who was critical of Olsen for not “owning the process” early in his redshirt season, says Olsen is starting to take ownership.

“Kevin is maturing. He’s preparing,” Golden said. “It was never a question of the talent in the fall. It was a question of his process. He’s starting to buy into that. It’s showing up on the field right now.

Golden likes how Olsen has come along, but says Williams is the Canes’ No. 1 quarterback. For now.

“Kevin’s going to have something to say about that, but Ryan right now is really making good decisions and protecting the football and doing a good job getting it to the playmakers,” Golden said.

Regarding Williams’ strengths, Golden said: “Not a lot of balls on the ground. His [completion] percentage has been high [in games at UM, more than 71 percent].

“That’s what he can do. Every guy that we have has a different talent. His ability is to read it conceptually, diagnose it, and get the ball out quickly. He’s doing a good job with that right now.”

Williams said it’s no surprise Olsen is pushing him.

“I definitely expected him to be good,” Williams said. “He is good. He can play. It’s good to have competition. If I’m just out here by myself, I don’t think anybody would get better.”

‘Ice’ talks new role: New Assistant Director of Football Operations Tim “Ice” Harris spoke to the media for the first time. Click here to read his comments, which include his goals for UM and beyond (read: he wants to be a college position coach).

Defensive line battles: Ufomba Kamalu’s strong spring showing, coupled with the foot injury to starter Anthony Chickillo, has created a good battle at strong-side defensive end. “I think that’s a great competition right now. Kamalu’s really had a good offseason and a really good spring so far,” Golden said.

Chickillo, who is being held out as he recovers from a foot injury, is expected to return Thursday.

With Chickillo and Kamalu fighting for the starting job, and talented newcomers Chad Thomas and Anthony Moten arriving in the summer, “we’ve got a chance to really improve that position this fall,” Golden said.

Kamalu has taken first-team reps this spring, with Jelani Hamilton backing him up.

At weak-side defensive end, Al-Quadin Muhammad is taking first-team reps, with Tyriq McCord behind him. Trent Harris is also seeing time as a reserve. Four-star signee Demetrius Jackson will also compete for time once he arrives this fall.

“That’s the best we’ve had there, from start to finish, so there’s going to be a lot of competition,” Golden said.

As for the defensive tackles, Golden believes there will be an improvement this fall.

“He’s starting to learn it – it’s a lot, you know, when you first come in – he’s starting to learn it. But he’s clearly strong. Obviously we’re looking to get that out Mike Wyche, too, because that’s why you [recruit] junior colleges, to get that kind of size and ready-made strength and experience.”

Chickillo said physically, Heurtelou reminds him of former teammate Micanor Regis.

Speaking for the first time this spring, Chickillo said he “was always kind of banged up” last year, but didn’t elaborate. He said he was frustrated over a foot injury that has kept him out this spring, but believes he’ll return for Thursday’s practice.

Chickillo, on coming back to UM instead of leaving for the NFL Draft:

“I’m happy,” he said. “I’m going to graduate in December. Got the chance to raise my stock, help the team win, do everything I can. I came here trying to make it a better place when I left it.”

Tackling a key issue: Last year, sound tackling was a major problem for UM. Golden was asked about where that stands this spring:

“Much better,” he said. “Jamal [Carter] is a really good tackler. Deon is tackling better. He’s more healthy than he was all [last] season. Jenks [Rayshawn Jenkins] we’re holding [out] right now. Dallas [Crawford] is tackling really well for us, which is great. Obviously Denzel [Perryman] is a good tackler. I can go on down the line. [Jermaine] Grace is a really good tackler.

“We’ve got to tackle better. We’ve got to read our keys better so the windows aren’t as big. There’s a lot of things that we’ve obviously studied that we’ve got to fix here this spring, but our tackling already is better than it was in the fall.”

Golden on Bush, who likes to go for the big hit, sometimes at the expense of making a sound play:

“I see more control, no question about it. That’s a fine line. We want them to be aggressive … but we want to make the tackle no matter what. I see more confidence out of him. I know he had a really good offseason. He feels like he’s 100 percent. We haven’t seen that out of him in a while.”

In yellow (limited contact) jerseys: Chickillo, WR Herb Waters (knee), WR Malcolm Lewis, CB Nate Dortch and CB Corn Elder (meniscus), who briefly returned punts during a drill and appeared to be running fairly well. All five of those players are expected to return to action at some point this spring.

One injury note: Sandland left practice early after appearing to tweak a muscle in his right leg. He rode the exercise bike for most of the session. Pierre also left early with an unknown, but minor injury.

Knighton update: Golden said offensive lineman Hunter Knighton, who was released from a local hospital last Monday after a two-week stay, was making progress in his return from an unknown ailment.

“He’s getting caught up on school,” Golden said. “Our biggest concern right now is getting him caught up on school. Other than that, I just don’t want to infringe on the family’s privacy. When he’s ready to talk, he’ll talk.

“But he’s doing great. You might see him around. He’s getting treatment and getting caught up on school, as what he should do. That’s the first step back to normalcy. Once we get caught up on that, then the next step is getting back to football.”

A source close to Knighton expressed great confidence he would eventually return to play.

Position switch on the way? Golden said he may move redshirt freshman cornerback Ray Lewis III to running back, the position he played at Lake Mary Prep, if he is not ready to compete for a spot in UM’s two-deep at corner.

“We haven’t had that conversation yet, but he’s a versatile player,” Golden said. “Corn Elder’s the same way. We might find him some wide receiver reps this spring as well.”

Burns is back: Burns, the ACC 60-meter high hurdle champion who finished a disappointing 15th at NCAA Indoor Nationals last week, returned to practice and was a full participant for the first time this spring.

On his finish at nationals: “I didn’t fully get the blocks right, so I stumbled coming out. It made the rest look bad.” Burns (6-0, 195) said he ran a 4.5 40-yard dash last year and expects to lower it when he’s timed later this spring.

This and that: Howard, on leading by example: “If you’re doing everything positive, they’re going to do everything positive. If you complain, they’re going to complain. It’s like a tradition that’s always passed down.” … King, a West Boca Raton alum, switched his number from 67 to 90. … Former Canes tight end Chase Ford, defensive tackle Luther Robinson and safety A.J. Highsmith took in practice.